Fail: NHS "ecig" not actually an ecig
When it an ecig not an ecig? When it’s a medically approved ecig.
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by Dave Cross
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The Sunday People, and then published on the Mirror’s website, lay claim to the fact that an unnamed source leaked the story to reporter Nigel Nelson. Unfortunately a number of things do not add up and, once again, The Mirror Group’s association with negative vaping stories comes under question.
“E-cigarettes will be prescribed on the NHS - but the Government didn't want you to know,” ran the headline. The feature carries no quotation from a government minister to justify the claim that they didn’t want smokers to know about the move – and quite why the adoption of ecigs by NHS quit centres would be kept under wraps is not explained in the piece either.
“There are fears GPs will be over-run by smokers demanding e-cigs, which have been assessed as 95 per cent safer than tobacco,” it continues while neither explaining who holds the fear or the basis of such concern. Surely the purpose of such a provision is to reduce smoking-related illnesses so why would anyone want to not promote the move?
But then there is also a problem with the factual content too. In introducing British American Tobacco’s “e-Voke” product they write: “The first e-cigarette to be prescribed on the NHS will be available in the new year.” The device is called the Voke, not e-Voke. The ‘e’ symbolises ‘electronic’ and is redundant in this case as the Voke is not powered; it is a simple inhaler bearing no resemblance to an electronic cigarette in form or function.
The Telegraph and the Daily Mail included reference to this article on their websites. The Mail spliced together random pieces of previous coverage in order to pad it out into a page of content while only the Telegraph had the sense to omit any reference to e-cigs.
It is surprising that the Mirror made such a hash of the story given that they plugged BAT’s Voke back in February, where they quote Tom Pruen (ECITA) saying: “The Voke isn't really a competitor product for e-cigs, rather it is some much needed innovation in the somewhat stagnant nicotine replacement market. They apparently deliver nicotine well, but don't have the flavour or sensation that an e-cig does.”
It is also highly unlikely that the Mirror/People’s estimated cost is factual either: “It is likely to cost the NHS £20 per kit and £10 a week for each patient’s cartridges, and long-term health budget savings are expected.” Firstly, the figures appear to have been lifted straight from comments made by the BBC’s Hugh Pym in relation to e-cigs and also that the Voke does not use cartridges.
This doesn’t alter the fact that the Voke is now available on prescription or that there are likely to be a number of tobacco and pharmaceutical company products given approval by the MRHA during 2016.
Inhalers have not been as successful as electronic cigarettes at helping smokers to quit and the Voke will be in direct competition with Johnson & Johnson's existing Nicorette Inhalator. Nicotine replacement products currently cost the NHS just under £50 million per year. British American Tobacco has recently been implicated in a bribery and corruption scandal.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.
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